This article was published in The Appalachian.

There’s an old cliché that says there’s no such thing as a free lunch. That hasn’t been true lately at Appalachian Food Services, the university office that runs Central Dining Facility, Park Place Café, Cascades Café, McAlister’s and the three Markets.

“This year already, we’ve given away a free lunch, a free cake and a free pizza, and we’re also doing Facebook-only giveaways for freebies with a purchase,” Food  Services specialist Heather Y. Brandon said.

While it’s doubtful that any college student would turn down a free lunch, now there’s a chance to win something even bigger: a free bike.

“Pepsi wanted to partner with us for a promotion – for a giveaway,” Brandon said. “They were able to get the gift certificates for the three free bikes.”

Gift certificates for free bicycles will be given to three students who enter at one of the Market locations: the

Market at the Bookstore, the Market at Trivette Hall and the Market at the Appalachian Panhellenic Hall. A drawing will take place March 2 and entries will be accepted at all of the Markets until then.

Students are welcome to enter as many times as they’d like, but can’t enter more than once in the course of a single visit to the Market.

Employees of Pepsi Bottling Ventures or Appalachian State University are ineligible to win, as are their immediate family members, according to the contest rules.

Brandon said the giveaway immediately sounded like one that would be popular at Appalachian State University.
“Who doesn’t like a bike? That’s something that we thought would be really popular, especially with the student population at Appalachian,” she said.

The bikes being given away are Trek 820 sport bicycles. Each will be custom-made to the winning student’s measurements.

“[The Trek 820] is a great bike for riding around campus or cruising around town,” Rachel Vandenende, president of the cycling club, said.

For more information on the bicycle promotion and a full list of contest rules, visit foodservices.appstate.edu/news-events/228. To keep track of future giveaways and promotions, become a fan of Appalachian Food Services on Facebook.